Rafa leaving official confirmation

[Blue & Maroon]

Or maybe he's a 60 year old man looking for a big last payday that sets up his family, kids and their future kids up for life so he can either manage whoever he wants without worrying too much about money or so he can retire when he wants. Point is we don't know but I'm certain he will have gotten either now or in the future better footballing options than China.

[Sea Otter]

You don't think the man can comfortably retire many times over already?

[Sea Otter]

Both can be true. You can completely agree with his criticisms of the club while also questioning whether taking a huge contract to manage in China is hypocritical. And before the person bigging up the Chinese league posts again, I'd have said the same had he come to manage in Canada.

Doesn't quite sit right. It may be a "project", but it's the Chinese Super League. Not exactly the pinnacle of managerial aspirations.

[Sea Otter]

Some people are (admittedly on Twatter) making out that if supposedly he had a project in mind and wanted to stay then how come he had the Chinese deal lined up for the day he left.

It's a perfectly valid question.

Let's be honest, people hero worship Rafa and hate Ashley, they were always going to believe what Rafa said and think the regime was talking s**** whereas the truth is probably somewhere in between. Did Ashley make him a reasonable offer? Maybe, maybe not. Was Rafa being unreasonable in his demands? Maybe, maybe not. Was Ashley keen enough to keep him? Probably not. Was Rafa keen to stay? Probably not. We'll never know and you can't really believe what either side says.

I do know that Rafa doesn't love Newcastle as much as people like to think he does and why would he? It is a bit frustrating to see him go to China after saying he wants to compete in the best competitions with the best facilities and he loves working reasonably close to home but I can't blame him and wish him well.

The most frustrating thing about the state of the club is that him leaving doesn't have to be a disaster, he's not the be all and end all but it almost certainly will be a disaster and we will end up with Gary Monk.

He can put lipstick on a pig, grand project etc., but let's be honest, he went for the money. 12m after tax. Nice.

We are a mess. It's a mess made worse by letting this drag on far too long. We have an unambitious owner, which isn't the end of the world. However, when you have an unambitious owner, no manager, no decent strikers, players likely leaving and who knows what coming in, then it may be the end of the Premier league for us.

[Colly]

Or maybe he's a 60 year old man looking for a big last payday that sets up his family, kids and their future kids up for life so he can either manage whoever he wants without worrying too much about money or so he can retire when he wants. Point is we don't know but I'm certain he will have gotten either now or in the future better footballing options than China.

This.

[Bruuuuuuuuce ()]

his new club are spending £250m on training facilities.

[overseasTOON]

his new club are spending £250m on training facilities.

A lot of money to spend on paint.

[PTAO?]

Yeah he's building a club from the ground up. Good luck to him.

[Remember Colo]

I'm all for people growing football, and other sports in other countries. and the only way it happens is with experienced players and managers taking the risks and bringing their experience to expanding leagues, and investors spending the money too. My qualms with China is that they really haven't seemed to make any progress in the past decade, spending a lot of money on players and managers, most of whom leave soon after, and then stories arise of unpaid salaries and such. Admittedly, I'm probably overstating how often that's happened because of how common it was in Russia.

All that to say, it's completely reasonable that Rafa got exhausted of dealing with the drama and ineptitude of his bosses in Newcastle, but I think that has a lot more to do with his decision than this great project.

[bodacious benny]

his new club are spending £250m on training facilities.

A lot of money to spend on paint.

Must use Farrow & Ball, it’s what Mrs BB always wants and costs a f***ing fortune.

[Blue & Maroon]

A lot of money to spend on paint.

Must use Farrow & Ball, it’s what Mrs BB always wants and costs a f***ing fortune.

We did the living room in farrow and ball. I did not follow suit with the rest of the house.

[ALF]

Some people are (admittedly on Twatter) making out that if supposedly he had a project in mind and wanted to stay then how come he had the Chinese deal lined up for the day he left.

It's a perfectly valid question.

Let's be honest, people hero worship Rafa and hate Ashley, they were always going to believe what Rafa said and think the regime was talking s**** whereas the truth is probably somewhere in between. Did Ashley make him a reasonable offer? Maybe, maybe not. Was Rafa being unreasonable in his demands? Maybe, maybe not. Was Ashley keen enough to keep him? Probably not. Was Rafa keen to stay? Probably not. We'll never know and you can't really believe what either side says.

I do know that Rafa doesn't love Newcastle as much as people like to think he does and why would he? It is a bit frustrating to see him go to China after saying he wants to compete in the best competitions with the best facilities and he loves working reasonably close to home but I can't blame him and wish him well.

The most frustrating thing about the state of the club is that him leaving doesn't have to be a disaster, he's not the be all and end all but it almost certainly will be a disaster and we will end up with Gary Monk.

Not even just that. The Chinese clubs manager only resigned yesterday. Benitez was talking to them and negotiating while under contract here and whilst they still had a manager.

[bodacious benny]

Paco doesn’t look too enthralled, tho tbf he’s probably jet lagged

[Toondes]

How did he get his visa so quick ?

[Blue & Maroon]

How did he get his visa so quick ?

Like others have said I think hes decided he was leaving a while ago.

[seaside nipper]

Somehow , the 'challenge and project' in China does not add up in terms of the Rafa sound bites as a 'professional challenge'.
£12m after tax helps.
Cannot think the publicity image of Rafa and his backroom team on arrival in China told a tale, 'happy to be here'..........not
Anyway, cannot blame the guy , simply sickened of working with Spivs like Ashley and Charnley..... just say it Rafa.

[Tsi]

The daily mail reporting this.

'A few days later we told the club we would not be extending the contract': Rafa Benitez reveals he told Newcastle in May that he would not be staying
Rafa Benitez says he knew in May he would not be remaining as Newcastle boss
The Spaniard informed the club of his decision a few days after the meeting.
In an interview with The Mail on Sunday from Dalian in China, where he is preparing for his Chinese Super League game against Henan Jianye on Sunday, Benitez says the conditions attached to continuing at the club for another year meant staying was never a viable option.

full article here - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... eting.html

[Toondes]

The daily mail reporting this.

'A few days later we told the club we would not be extending the contract': Rafa Benitez reveals he told Newcastle in May that he would not be staying
Rafa Benitez says he knew in May he would not be remaining as Newcastle boss
The Spaniard informed the club of his decision a few days after the meeting.
In an interview with The Mail on Sunday from Dalian in China, where he is preparing for his Chinese Super League game against Henan Jianye on Sunday, Benitez says the conditions attached to continuing at the club for another year meant staying was never a viable option.

full article here - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... eting.html

Think Rafa needs to shut up.

[bodacious benny]

He honoured his contract and moved on, he’s free to do or say what he wants imo. I’d be surprised if during his 3 and a bit years with us if other better offers weren’t available to him (e.g. West Ham, Leicester) but he stayed with us until the end.

So if it was clear from 16 May that he wasn’t staying then the club has had nearly two months to get a new manager and coaching team in place but there’s no sign of that.

[Toondes]

He was the best paid manager outside the top 6. He achieved promotion after outspending every other championship club . And in the subsequent seasons he achieved safety which was his job at the end of the day . I liked him but he was hardly treating us to glorious football and I seem to remember a lot of people on here hated the way He set us up to play.
He done a decent job but he’s not the be all and end all for me.
He’s taken a lucrative job offer and he’s no longer our concern. I dont agree that he needs to keep stoking the fire as we all know what Ashley is like. Rafa is a better politician than he is a manger.